Imagine the spectacle of Hollywood without the presence of Dwayne Johnson. Hard to digest that, right? Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson charted a course in stardom with his might. He made waves in WWE and became a household star in America. That helped him secure gigs in Hollywood and eventually became the icon he is today. But before DJ was ‘The Rock,’ he was known as Dewey, from his short-lived and lesser-known stint at Miami football. He owes the end of his football career–in jest, of course–to his biggest competitor from that time. That person is none other than Warren Sapp.

Along with the slew of awards and honors Dwayne Johnson has in his name, he can also call himself a CFB National Championship winner. He was part of Miami’s victorious team of 1991, which had a clean sweep season of 12-0. Along with him was former NFL star Warren Sapp, who played as a TE. He later became a defensive tackle and overshadowed Johnson in the room. “I didn’t make it to the NFL because of one man. That’s Warren Sapp. Hands down,” the actor said in an ESPN appearance a few years ago.

There’s no bad blood between the two, but Sapp misses no opportunity to take a harmless dig at The Rock. In a Jun 11 appearance on Adrian Culler’s Cut to The Chase Podcast, Sapp was once again asked if he was why Dwayne Johnson had to think of an alternate career. “So this myth about Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson being in front of me… I’d never seen that depth shot,” he joked. Then, he spoke about the allegation that Johnson rarely got to start because of Warren Sapp. Because in his 4-year-long career, The Rock was able to start in only one game.

“Let’s just go back a year, to ‘91, when I first got there. Anthony Hamlet, Eric Miller was starting. Kenny Lopez, Mark Caesar backed him up. [Patrick] Riley… And then me. That’s six and I haven’t named one,” Sapp said, before bursting into a peal of laughter. When Sapp settled into the room, our beloved actor and wrestling phenom could never make it higher up in the depth chart. The two continue to share a warm camaraderie despite Warren taking the spotlight away from ‘Dewey.’

“Listen, man, it’s a great story. It sounds great because when he is the wrestler, I am the footballer. And if he can use that bad boy right there that kept me from being this bad boy over here… Sounds wonderful,” Sapp claimed. He now runs the pass rush for Colorado football and is a close aide of Coach Prime. Dwayne Johnson, on the other hand, has cemented his acting genius by featuring in various movies.

From the Fast and Furious Franchise to Moana, Dwayne Johnson continues to wow his fans. But maybe, if it weren’t for Warren Sapp, we wouldn’t have gotten ‘The Rock’ out of ‘Dewey.’

Warren Sapp and Dwayne Johnson look back at the life-changing moment

Sapp dominated Miami’s D-line as a tackle. But before he crossed over to the defense from the offense, Dwayne Johnson looked primed to make a starting debut later on as a sophomore. In a conversation reported by Bleacher Report, Sapp recalled a memorable chat with The Rock that marked the twist in his life. “I went down and sat in the D-lineman room, and Dewey walks in and says, ‘What are you doing here?’ I looked at him and said, ‘I’m here for your job, b—-.’”

“Then about six months later, he took my spot,” Johnson said in another interview, reported by The Sporting News. But like Warren Sapp, he also acknowledges the turn of events that pushed him to be where he is today. He said in the same ESPN interview, “I had the greatest D-lineman in the history of the game playing in front of me… There’s a reason why I’m here right now, and it’s because of the grace of God, because you’re the best at what you do. And because you came in and said, ‘You go sit on the sidelines real quick, and I’m going out there to kick some ass.’”

Thanks to Warren Sapp, the WWE got front-row seats to witness Dwayne Johnson rise as a megastar. When the dominant defensive tackle shoved him to the sidelines, it unknowingly set the stage for Dewey to become The Rock. And sure, Sapp loves to clown him for the brief football stint, but the bond between these two legends? Still Rock [pun intended] solid.